For a successful business organization, it is important to use a lean production system. The very name of this system contains the main principle - to organize work in such a way as to eliminate unnecessary labor, time, financial and other costs. If we talk about what lean manufacturing is briefly, then it is a concept of competent management that allows you to optimize any business processes.

Main goals of lean manufacturing

Application of the concept allows you to achieve several goals. The general goal of introducing lean manufacturing is a full-scale reduction in the costs of all resources used in business, without compromising the quality of products, goods or services.

The identification of which the implementation of lean production is aimed at relates to:

• Overproduction, when products that no one needs are produced or too many products are produced;
• Inventory, when the production process receives an excess amount of materials needed to make a product;
• Excessive processing - effort that does not affect the final value of the product for the consumer client;
• Unnecessary movements when moving workers, tools, equipment, which does not in any way affect the improvement of products;
• Defects, defects in products that are checked, sorted, and, if necessary, disposed of, or their grade is changed, repaired, or replaced;
• Expectations – time costs associated with waiting for workers, materials, equipment, information;
• Transportation – moving parts or materials within a production organization.

Principles and tools of lean manufacturing

Any concept is built on principles specific to its characteristics. The basic principles of lean production in an enterprise are:

1. Determining the value of the manufactured product for the final client-consumer.
2. Determination of the value stream for manufactured products.
3. Ensuring continuity of updated product production.
4. The desire to do only what the end consumer needs.
5. Continuous business improvement.

Let's take a closer look at each of the above 5 principles for implementing lean manufacturing.

Principle No. 1 allows you to identify what is valuable in the selected product for the end consumer. Often, an enterprise puts in extra effort that does not affect the value of the product. These are the ones that need to be determined in order to achieve the desired result from the implemented system.

Principle No. 2 makes it possible to determine losses during the production of a product. To do this, you should describe all the actions taken by the enterprise, the result of which is the delivery of the product to the final consumer.

Principle No. 3 ensures that activities in the production chain are modernized so that they are carried out in a continuous manner. There should be no time or other losses between actions.

By applying principle No. 4, it is possible to achieve the production of a product only of the type and quantity that is required by customer-consumers. Taking into account the needs of the latter is mandatory if the goal is to organize lean production at the enterprise.

Principle No. 5 is very important when using lean manufacturing technology. Production will remain lean only by constantly improving it, reducing unnecessary effort and costs.

As a result of applying all the basic principles, it will be possible to achieve a significant reduction in costs. The result of implementation will be the opportunity to:

• Offer the consumer the product he needs;
• Reduce the cost of the product if necessary;
• Increase sales volumes due to customer satisfaction.

Methods and tools for implementing lean manufacturing

The basic methods are the practical elements for effectively achieving the goal.

Scope of application of lean manufacturing tools

Today, lean manufacturing methodology is used in various manufacturing areas. It is used in different industries, in large and small enterprises. The application of the lean manufacturing method is observed in the activities of companies engaged in:

• Production
• Providing logistics services;
• Banking and trade;
• Creation and implementation of information technologies;
• Construction;
• Medical care;
• Extraction of oil, various minerals, etc.

It is important that lean production in an enterprise engaged in a certain type of activity is subject to adaptation to specific production conditions. In this case, it is always possible to achieve an increase in work efficiency by reducing various types losses.

Lean identifies 7 types of losses:

Transportation– transportation of finished products and work in progress must be optimized in terms of time and distance. Each move increases the risk of damage, loss, delay, etc. and more importantly, the longer the product moves, the greater the overhead costs. Transportation does not add value to the product, and the consumer is not willing to pay for it.

Inventory - the more inventory there is in warehouses and in production, the more Money turns out to be “frozen” in these reserves. Inventory does not add value to the product.

Movement – ​​unnecessary movement of operators and equipment increases wasted time, which again leads to increased cost without increasing the value of the product.

Waiting – Products that are in work-in-progress and waiting to be processed increase cost without adding value.

Overproduction– this type of loss is the most significant of all. Unsold products require production costs, storage costs, accounting costs, etc.

Technology – this type of loss is associated with the fact that production technology does not allow all the requirements of the end consumer to be implemented in the product.

Defects – each defect leads to additional costs of time and money.

The types of waste that Lean Manufacturing considers are the same as those in the Kaizen approach. Sometimes another type of loss is added to the Lean system - losses from incorrect placement of personnel. This type of loss occurs if personnel perform work that does not correspond to their skills and experience.

Lean Manufacturing Tools

Lean manufacturing is a logical development of many management approaches created in Japanese management. Therefore, the Lean system includes a large number of tools and techniques from these approaches, and often the management approaches themselves. It is quite difficult to list all the tools and techniques. Moreover, the composition of the tools used will depend on the conditions specific tasks specific enterprise. The main management tools and approaches that are part of lean manufacturing tools are:

Quality Management Tools –

The production process of a modern enterprise is a complex mechanism for transforming semi-finished products, raw materials, materials and other items of labor into finished products that satisfy the needs of society. The main task of the production system in this case becomes the continuous improvement of the “value stream” for the consumer, which is based on the rational combination in time and space of all main, auxiliary and service industries. This makes it possible to produce products with minimal labor costs, and economic indicators and production results depend on this. economic activity enterprises, including the cost of production, profit and profitability of production, the amount of work in progress and the amount of working capital.

At the same time, at many enterprises one of the main issues is the issue of the efficiency of production processes in terms of the duration of the production cycle. There is a need to spend a lot of effort on coordinating all auxiliary and service production for the uninterrupted supply of the main production with raw materials, electricity, as well as timely maintenance of equipment, warehousing, and transportation. A situation with equipment failure at one technological stage leads to the likelihood of a shutdown of the entire workshop. Hence, the organization of an uninterrupted, efficient production cycle at an enterprise acquires particular relevance and significance for optimizing costs and achieving the best final results.

Production efficiency at most enterprises is directly related to the complexity and duration of the production cycle. The longer this cycle, the greater the number of auxiliary and service industries involved in it, the less efficient production as a whole turns out to be. This pattern is explained by the obvious need to spend a lot of effort on coordinating all activities to ensure the uninterrupted supply of basic production with raw materials, energy resources, equipment maintenance, transportation and storage of products, and loading and unloading. Equipment malfunction at one technological stage can lead to disruptions in the entire production, even to its complete stop. Thus, it is especially important to improve efficiency and achieve best results becomes a solution to the problem of stable functioning of the entire production system.

One way to solve this problem is to introduce a system Lean technologies (“Lean manufacturing”), which is designed to optimize production processes, constantly improve product quality while constantly reducing costs. The system is not just a technology, but an entire management concept that assumes maximum market orientation of production with the interested participation of all personnel of the organization. The experience of implementing the described technology, at least in the form of individual elements, at enterprises in various industries has shown its promise, as a result of which there is no doubt about the need to study this experience and further expand the scope of its application.

Economic essence of Lean technologies

As an economic definition, production is a system of converting raw materials, semi-finished products and other objects of labor into finished products that have consumer value for society. The main task of the production system is to continuously improve the process of creating value for the consumer through the rational combination in time and space of all main, auxiliary and service industries. Thus, savings in time, material and labor resources are achieved, production costs are reduced, production profitability increases, and all economic indicators of the production and economic activities of the enterprise are improved.

As industrial relations develop, production process management systems also develop and improve. One of the latest was the Lean manufacturing system, based on the principles of effective resource management, attention to the needs of the customer, concentration on the problem of eliminating all types of losses, and the full use of the intellectual potential of the enterprise personnel. One of the main goals of the system is cost reduction, production enterprise management, based on a constant desire to eliminate all types of losses.

Lean Manufacturing Concept combines the optimization of production processes, aimed at constantly improving product quality while constantly reducing costs, with the involvement of every employee in this process. The concept is maximally focused on market business conditions.

Over the past twenty years, a new productivity paradigm has become increasingly applied in global practice. It originally originated at Toyota and was called - Toyota Production System (TPS). It is focused on growth in a post-industrial economy, when instead of mass production based on guaranteed demand, there is a need for diversified production capable of satisfying individual customer needs, operating in small batches of a variety of goods, including piece goods. The main task of such production was to create competitive products in the required quantities, in the shortest possible time and with the least expenditure of resources.

Production that meets new requirements was called “lean” (lean, lean production, lean manufacturing), and enterprises that increased the operational efficiency of their production thanks to the implementation new system– “lean” (lean enterprise).

Lean businesses differ from others in the following ways:

1. The basis of the production system of such enterprises is people. They are a creative force in the process of producing competitive products, and technologies and equipment are only a means of achieving their goals. No theory, strategy, or technology will make an enterprise successful; This will only be achieved by people based on their intellectual and creative potential.

2. Lean production systems enterprises are focused on complete elimination of losses and continuous improvement of all processes. All company employees, from workers to senior management, are involved in the daily work of preventing all possible types of losses and continuous improvement.

3. Enterprise management makes decisions, taking into account prospects for further development, while immediate financial interests are not decisive. The management of such companies does not engage in useless administration - command, unreasonably strict control, evaluation of employees using complex systems of various indicators; it exists for the reasonable organization of the production process, timely detection, solution and prevention of problems. The ability to see and solve problems in the workplace is valued in every employee - from senior management to workers.

Key tools of the Lean system to increase labor productivity are:

• 5S system– a management technique designed to effectively organize the workspace. The name comes from Japanese words starting with S, for which in Russian you can find analogues starting with the letter C, these are:
  • 1) Sorting items and/or documentation at the workplace according to the degree of their need and frequency of use with the elimination of everything unnecessary;
    2) Systematization, when each item should be in a certain easily accessible place;
    3) Maintaining cleanliness and order;
    4) Standardization of the workplace ordered by previous procedures;
    5) constant improvement of the developed standard.
  • These simple and, at first glance, insignificant procedures, nevertheless, affect labor efficiency, eliminate the loss of things and time, reduce the likelihood of fires, etc. emergency situations, and in general create a favorable microclimate in the workplace.
• Standardized work– a clear and maximally visualized algorithm for performing a specific activity, including standards for the duration of the cycle of operations, the sequence of actions when performing these operations, the amount of materials and items in use (inventory level).
• Methodology "Breakthrough to Flow" is to smooth out and improve the efficiency of the production flow by creating fixed production cycles. In each of the selected cycles, the principles of standardized work discussed in the previous paragraph are implemented.
• TPM (Total Productive Maintenance) concept– system of universal equipment maintenance. This system involves combining the operation of equipment with constant technical maintenance. Thanks to constant monitoring and maintenance of equipment in working (good) condition by production personnel, the level of losses caused by breakdowns and equipment downtime due to repair work, including planned ones, which allows us to ensure the highest efficiency throughout the entire life cycle of the equipment. This frees up the maintenance personnel to deal with more important tasks.
• SMED (Single Minute Exchange of Die) system– technology for rapid equipment changeover. In the process of equipment changeover, two groups of operations can be distinguished - external, which can be carried out without stopping the equipment, for example, preparing tools and materials, and internal, for which a break in the operation of the equipment is necessary. The essence of the system is to transfer the maximum number of internal operations to a group of external ones, which becomes possible thanks to the introduction of a number of technological and organizational improvements.
• Pull production system is an approach to organizing the production flow that eliminates losses associated with overproduction or waiting for the completion of the previous stage of work. Each technological operation, as it were, “pulls” the required amount of product from the previous one and transfers it to the next one. As a result, there is neither a surplus nor a shortage of products in the production process.
• System for submitting and reviewing proposals provides all employees with a clear mechanism for implementing proposals for improvement and provides measures to encourage employees to submit such proposals.

The integrated use of Lean tools allows you to achieve a significant increase in labor productivity without significant investments, almost exclusively using the company’s internal reserves. In essence, the Lean concept is a specific approach to all issues of production organization, allowing not only to implement innovative technologies that increase labor productivity and production efficiency, but to create conditions for the formation of a corporate culture based on the general participation of personnel in the process of continuous improvement of the company’s activities.

Error Prevention Process Used in Lean Systems

A widely used error prevention method used in Lean systems is the Poka-yoke technique.

Poka-yoke– (poka – random, unintentional error; yoke – error prevention), (English Zero defects – Zero error principle) – the principle of searching for the causes of errors and creating methods and technologies that exclude the very possibility of their occurrence. If it is impossible to complete the work in other ways than the correct one, but the work is done, it means it was done without errors - this is the fundamental idea of ​​the method.

Various defects in products can arise due to human forgetfulness, inattention, misunderstanding, carelessness, etc. Errors of this kind are natural and inevitable, and they must be viewed from this angle in order to find ways to prevent them.

The error prevention technique includes:

• creating prerequisites for defect-free work,
• introduction of defect-free work methods,
• systematic elimination of errors that have arisen,
• taking precautions and implementing simple technical systems to help employees prevent mistakes.

The Poka-yoke method, used in conjunction with other lean manufacturing tools, ensures that the manufactured product is defect-free and the production process runs smoothly.

Increasing the efficiency of enterprise management through Lean technologies

In general, the use of Lean principles can provide significant effects(in times):

• productivity growth – 3-10 times;
• reduction of downtime by 5-20 times;
• reduction in manufacturing cycle time by 10-100 times;
• reduction of warehouse stocks - 2-5 times;
• reduction in cases of defects – 5-50 times;
• acceleration of entry to the market of new products by 2-5 times.

The best foreign and Russian practice implementation of lean manufacturing tools gives such results:

• Electronics industry: reduction of production process steps from 31 to 9. Reduction of production cycle from 9 to 1 day. Release of 25% of production space. Savings of about 2 million dollars in six months.
• Aviation industry: reduction of order fulfillment time from 16 months to 16 weeks.
• Automotive industry: quality increase by 40%
• Non-ferrous metallurgy: productivity increase by 35%.
• Overhaul of large-capacity vessels: release of 25% of production space. Reducing the time of one of the main operations from 12 to 2 hours. Saving about 400 thousand dollars in 15 days.
• Assembly of automotive components: release of 20% of production space. Refusal to construct a new production building. Savings of approximately $2.5 million per week.
• Pharmaceutical industry: waste reduction from 6% to 1.2%. Reduce electricity consumption by 56%. Saving 200 thousand dollars annually.
• Consumer goods manufacturing: 55% increase in productivity. Reduction of production cycle by 25%. Inventory reduction by 35%. Savings of about 135 thousand dollars per week.

Overall, today Russian market There is a shortage of professionals with experience in optimizing production processes through the implementation of lean manufacturing technology. Lean considers any production from the point of view of process optimization by all employees of the company. This global approach hides the main complexity of the “lean production” methodology, since a specialist in this field must combine the skills of a teacher and manager, forecaster and analyst.

Conclusion

Lean production (lean production, lean manufacturing) is a concept for managing a manufacturing enterprise based on the constant desire to eliminate all types of waste. Due to the deployment of a Lean system (lean production system) at the enterprise, the practical implementation of an innovative approach to increasing labor productivity is possible. In essence, the Lean concept is a certain system of views on the organization of production, a kind of production paradigm that makes it possible to implement a number of innovative engineering methodologies to increase production efficiency (including labor productivity) and create conditions for the transformation and formation of a corporate culture based on universal participation of personnel in the process of continuous improvement of the company’s activities.

production fayol management lean

Lean manufacturing (hereinafter referred to as lean, lean management, lean production) is a system of measures aimed at reducing costs and improving the quality of production processes, which originated in the mid-twentieth century at Toyota and were subsequently developed by American researchers.

Goals of Lean Manufacturing:

• 1) reduction of costs, including labor;
• 2) reducing the development time for new products;
• 3) reducing the time required to create products;
• 4) reduction of production and warehouse space;
• 5) guarantee of delivery of products to the customer;
• 6) maximum quality at a certain cost, or minimum cost at a certain quality.

The main elements of the Lean Production philosophy:

• 1) elimination of losses in all their forms;
• 2) involving all personnel of the enterprise in improving production processes;
• 3) the idea that improvement should be carried out continuously.

Toyota has identified seven types of losses that are typical for various types enterprises of both production and service nature. The fight for elimination became the basis of the philosophy of "thrift".

• 1) Production of excess products. According to Toyota experts, the largest source of waste is producing more products than is necessary at the next stage of the enterprise's production process.
• 2) Downtime for organizational or technical reasons. Metrics commonly used to measure equipment and worker downtime are equipment efficiency and worker productivity. Less obvious is the downtime of a machine operator working on work in progress that is this moment need not.
• 3) Transport. The movement of materials and parts throughout the enterprise, as well as double or triple reloading (transshipment) of unfinished products do not add value to the final product of the enterprise. You can reduce the volume of losses if you change the layout of technological equipment in the workshop, reducing the distances between technological operations, establishing rational routes for transporting raw materials and semi-finished products, and choosing the correct location of workplaces.
• 4) Technological process. The source of losses can be technological process. Some manufacturing operations are the result of poor design of product components or material processing processes or poor equipment maintenance. Therefore, in the process of improving the organization of production, they can be painlessly simply eliminated.
• 5) Inventories. Any reserves should cause the management of the enterprise to strive to find opportunities for their liquidation. However, you need to start with the reasons that cause the appearance of stocks: by eliminating these reasons, you can achieve a reduction in the volume (or complete elimination) of stocks.
• 6) Movements of the employee in the workplace. From the outside looking in, an employee may appear busy, but in reality, their work does not create any added value. An extensive source of reducing losses arising from unnecessary movements is simplification of work.
• 7) Defective products. Production losses as a result of poor product quality are often quite significant. The overall cost of maintaining product quality is much higher than is generally believed, and it is therefore important to identify the causes of these costs.

Jeffrey Liker examined Toyota's manufacturing experience along with James Womack and Daniel Jones. In the book “The Toyota Way: 14 principles of management of the world's leading company,” he identified the eighth type of loss: unrealized creative potential of employees (loss of time, ideas, skills, opportunities for improvement and experience gained due to inattention to employees whom you have no time to listen to).

Chet Marchwinski and John Shook point out two more sources of loss - mura and muri, which mean "unevenness" and "overload" respectively.

Mura - unevenness in the performance of work, such as a fluctuating schedule of work caused not by fluctuations in end-user demand but rather by the characteristics of the production system, or an uneven pace of work to complete an operation, causing operators to rush and then wait. In many cases, managers can eliminate unevenness by leveling out planning and paying close attention to the pace of work.

Muri - overload of equipment or operators that occurs when working at a greater speed or pace and with greater effort over a long period of time - compared to the design load (project, labor standards).

In the book Lean Manufacturing: How to Eliminate Waste and Make Your Company Prosper, James Womack and Daniel Jones outline the following lean management principles:

• 1) Determining the value of the product.
• 2) Determination of the product value stream.
• 3) Building a continuous flow of product value creation.
• 4) Pulling of the product by the consumer.
• 5) Striving for excellence.

In particular, the JIT system is capable of providing continuous flow, but only if the changeover time is significantly reduced. Reducing the time for equipment changeover means reducing the time for transition from one type of activity to another. This makes it possible to make a little of some parts, re-adjust the machine, make a little more of other parts, and so on. That is, parts can (and should) be produced only when required by the next production stage.

The basic principles of Lean manufacturing imply the existence of certain tools with which companies create their production processes.

Taiichi Ono wrote that production system Toyota is based on two “pillars”: the Jidoka system and “just in time”.

Just-in-time delivery is a planning and management method, as well as a production philosophy, the goal of which is to immediately satisfy consumer demand with high quality and without waste.

The term “just in time” delivery literally reflects the content of this concept. It means releasing and providing goods and services exactly when they are needed: neither earlier, because then they will be waiting in inventory, nor later, because then customers will have to wait for them. In addition to the time factor contained in the concept of JIT, this concept also includes quality and efficiency requirements.

How does the JIT approach differ from traditional approaches to production organization? The traditional approach to organizing production assumes that each stage of the production process “puts” the produced products into inventory. This stock is a buffer inventory or safety stock for the subsequent production stage, located “downstream” in the overall process. This subsequent production step takes work-in-process inventory from inventory, processes it, and transfers it to the next buffer inventory. These inventories act as boundaries separating each production stage from neighboring stages. Buffer stocks make each production stage relatively independent, so that if Stage A stops working for some reason (e.g. equipment failure), Stage B can continue to operate for at least for some time. Section "C" will be able to continue operating even longer because it is supported by two buffer stocks, and it will stop operating only after all of this stock has been used up. However, this relative isolation has to be paid for by creating reserves (cost working capital) and a decrease in throughput (slow response to consumer requests). This is the main argument against the traditional approach to organizing production.

Products produced during just-in-time production are fed directly to the next stage of production. Now problems arising at any stage of production have a different impact on the entire production process. For example, if stage A stops producing products, stage B will notice this immediately, and stage C will notice it very quickly. The problem that occurred in stage A now quickly becomes known to the entire system, as this problem affects the system as a whole. As a result of this, responsibility for solving the problem is now assigned not only to personnel “A”, but extends to the entire personnel of the enterprise. This greatly increases the likelihood that the problem will be resolved quickly because it is too important to ignore. In other words, by preventing the accumulation of inventories between production stages, the enterprise receives a mechanism for increasing the internal efficiency of the enterprise.

Jidoka (autonomization) is the introduction of human intelligence into automatic devices that can independently detect a defect, and then immediately stop the production line and signal that help is needed. Autonomy serves a dual role. It eliminates overproduction, an important component of production losses, and prevents the production of defective products.

In addition to these two systems, the following elements of lean manufacturing can be distinguished: kanban, the “five S” system, total productive maintenance (TPM), rapid changeover (SMED), kaizen.

The term "kanban" in Japanese terminology refers to a card or signal. This card is a simple management tool; it is used to enable (signal) the flow of materials in a pull-type control system such as that used in a JIT system. Exist different types Kanban signs: movement kanban or movement kanban. The transfer kanban is used to signal to the previous section that material can be removed from inventory and sent to the next section.

A production kanban is a signal to the production process that a part or unit can be released for subsequent transfer to inventory.

Vendor Kanban is used to signal the supplier to route material or parts to a specific area of ​​production. In this respect, it is similar to movement kanban, but is typically used when interacting with external suppliers rather than internally.

Whatever type of kanban system is used, the basic principle is always the same: receiving a kanban triggers the movement, production or delivery of one unit of product or a standard package of such units. If two kanbans are received, this is a signal to move, produce or deliver two units of product or two standard packages of product, and so on.

There are two rules that govern the use of the Kanban system. They are also known as one and two card systems. The one-card system is most often used because it is the simplest. It only applies the movement kanban (or the seller's kanban for receiving materials from an external source). The two-card system uses kanban for movement and production.

The “five S” system implies a set of basic rules for reducing losses:

• 1) Perform sorting (Serti - Seiri). Remove what is not needed and keep what is needed.
• 2) Create your own workplace(Seiton - Seyton). Arrange your tools in an order where they are easily accessible when needed.
• 3) Keep your work area clean (Seiso). Keep tools clean and tidy; The workplace should be free of debris and dirt.
• 4) Standardize (Seiketsu - Seiketsu). Establish a norm in everything that meets the standard.
• 5) Learn to maintain a certain order (Shitsuke - Shitsuke). Develop a need to maintain a standard order and pride in it.

These rules focus on external order, a certain organization in the arrangement of tools and other necessary items, cleanliness, and standardization of the work environment. They are designed to eliminate all possible losses associated with uncertainty, waiting, and searching for necessary information, which create instability in the work environment. By eliminating everything unnecessary, as well as keeping tools and surrounding things clean and tidy, you can achieve the necessary order and ensure that the necessary things are always located in the same place. This alone makes any job easier and reduces the time it takes to complete it.

The goal of total productive maintenance (TPM) is to eliminate the variability in process conditions caused by unplanned equipment shutdowns. This is achieved by involving all staff in identifying opportunities to improve equipment maintenance. Persons responsible for this process are encouraged to accept responsibility for the use of the equipment, perform routine maintenance and carry out simple repairs. With such an organization of equipment maintenance, operating specialists can get more time to improve their skills and deepen their professional training, which is necessary to create more efficient maintenance systems. high level, improving the quality of service for larger operating systems.

Quick changeover (SMED) deals with equipment changeover time (the time required to change from one type of work to another). Reducing equipment changeover time can be achieved in various ways, for example: reducing search time necessary tools and equipment, solving problems in advance that may delay reconfiguration, as well as constantly using the same techniques when reconfiguring.

The Kaizen system focuses on continuous improvement of production processes, development, supporting business processes and management, as well as all aspects of life. In Japanese, the word "kaizen" means "continuous improvement." Based on this strategy, everyone is involved in the improvement process - from managers to workers, and its implementation requires relatively small material costs. The Kaizen philosophy suggests that our life as a whole (work, public and private) should be focused on continuous improvement (Fig. 10). The connection between Kaizen and other Lean Manufacturing tools is shown in Fig. eleven.

Rice.

Rice.

To implement Lean Manufacturing, James Womack proposed the following algorithm (Fig. 12):

• 1) Find an agent of change, a leader. Typically this role is filled by one of the company's leaders. It is only important that this is one of the leaders who can take responsibility for the coming changes.
• 2) Obtain the necessary knowledge on the lean production system. The change agent must be so imbued with the ideas of lean production that they must become second nature to him, otherwise all transformations will immediately stop at the first drop in production. Nowadays there are many ways to gain knowledge. These include literature, of which there is now no shortage, training courses (seminars, trainings) organized by numerous consulting companies. It can be very useful to visit one of the enterprises that have successfully implemented lean manufacturing.
• 3) Use or create a crisis that will become leverage. It is the crisis that serves as a good motive for introducing the Lean Production concept in an organization. Unfortunately, many business leaders realize the need to use a lean approach only when faced with serious problems.
• 4) Describe value streams. First, reflect the current state of material and information flows. Then create a future state map from which operations and processes that do not create value for the customer will be excluded. After this, determine a plan for the transition from the current state to the future.
• 5) Start as quickly as possible with activities that are accessible, but important and visible to everyone. In many cases, it is recommended that the transformation begin with the physical production process, where the results of the change are most visible. In addition, you can start with processes that, although extremely important for the company, are nevertheless performed very poorly.

Rice.

• 6) Strive to get the results of the work done as soon as possible. Immediate Feedback is one of the most important characteristics of the Lean Production concept. Employees must see with their own eyes how new methods produce results. It is psychologically important for them to see that the organization is beginning to really change.
• 7) As soon as a convenient opportunity arises, move on. Once the first local results are achieved, changes can begin to be made in other parts of the value stream. The scope of lean manufacturing should be expanded. For example, transfer the methodology from production to offices, use the practice of continuous improvement (kaizen).

The development of any company involves gradual access to a qualitatively new level. To do this, you need to change the usual and established way of managing, but not change it chaotically, but in accordance with a well-thought-out strategy. Profits will grow when production methods are maximally improved, guaranteeing income growth, and costs and losses are minimized. This technology, which has been around for a long time on the global market, is called “lean manufacturing.”

Let's consider the principles of this technique, the features of its application in domestic business, and methods of implementation in production. Let's discuss the obstacles that can stand in the way of an innovative entrepreneur striving for frugality. We present a step-by-step algorithm that can help in organizing new forms of business.

Lean manufacturing: how to understand it

"Lean– a special way of organizing activities, providing for the optimization of all business processes in order to find and eliminate hidden losses and improve production at all its stages.

This term is usually understood in two main meanings:

1. A set of practical tools and business technologies to achieve your goals.
2. A system of provisions close to philosophical, which characterizes a special attitude to the organization of activities at all levels - from management to ordinary workers.

In various literature this technology may be called:

• BP (“lean production”);
• The English equivalent is “lean production”;
• Lean or Lean technology (tracing paper from the English term);
• It can be written in English transcription, for example, “LEAN principles”.

In modern management, without the introduction of BP, not a single company can count on a leading position in its industry or even any serious competition.

Reasons for implementing lean manufacturing

The reason for restructuring activities according to the Lean system can be not only the expressed will of senior management. Common sense will suggest that management approaches need to be changed if the organization systematically:

• deadlines for fulfilling orders are not met;
• the cost of production turns out to be prohibitively high;
• delivery times have been increased;
• there is a large share of defects in products;
• the share of costs in the financial balance is greater than acceptable;
• productive capacity is limited – there is unfinished production.

In general, we can say that the introduction of BP will help solve the accumulated problems systematically, changing the working structure of the organization and qualitatively changing the situation for the better.

What can Lean technology bring?

To whatever extent the Lean manufacturing technology enters the life of a company, positive changes are guaranteed. World practice shows that effectively applied tools of this methodology can improve the situation in the following areas of management:

• shorten the operating or production cycle;
• optimize the organization of space in the office or production premises;
• reduce the share of work in progress;
• significantly improve product quality;
• increase labor productivity and output volumes;
• reduce the cost of maintaining fixed assets;
• ensure greater independence of working groups;
• make management more efficient.

Systemic improvements in other production areas are also possible.

ATTENTION! The main result from the introduction of BP will not be the number of tools used or even the financial indicator of income, but a significant increase in the competitiveness of the organization.

Where is it appropriate to apply Lean technology?

The Lean system can be used in absolutely any area of ​​production, trade, and service provision.

Initially, it was used in the automobile manufacturing industry, at giant factories such as Toyota. The effectiveness of the approach forced it to be adapted for other areas of activity. BP is most widespread in the following areas:

• logistics (the name “Lean Logistics” stuck);
• IT (here, too, the proper name “Lean Software Development” is used);
• construction technologies (“Lean Construction”);
• medicine (“Lean Healthcare”);
• oil production;
• education system;
• credit organizations.

Whatever company applies the principles and methods of Lean technology, this will certainly bring positive changes and lead to further development. Naturally, it is necessary to make appropriate adjustments to the methods based on the characteristics of the industry.

Implementation or transformation?

The term “introduction of power supply”, which is used in domestic practice, is not entirely accurate in relation to this technology.

In the usual sense, “implementing” this or that initiative means changing the state from the original to the planned one. For example, the efficiency of equipment in production was estimated at 45%, and after “implementation” it should reach the level of 90%. Managers perceive management technologies as a kind of software, which can be set and thereby ensure the planned indicators.

This approach does not work with Lean technology. One can compare development according to this scheme with a movement not from the starting point to the end point, but with the unfolding of a spiral, which increases positive effects with each circle, for which it is necessary to increase the applied efforts.

IMPORTANT! The transformation must be permanent and systemic, affecting all areas, starting with the way of thinking of each employee. For this purpose, the technology has provided simple and understandable tools.

Principles of the LEAN system

Since BP is not only a set of tools, but also a way of thinking, it is necessary that the participants in the process are imbued with its basic principles:

1. The value of the product for the consumer. The manufacturer must have a good understanding of what exactly the future buyer values ​​in his product. Then it will be possible to abolish or significantly reduce those actions that do not affect these values ​​in production.
2. Only necessary actions. It is necessary to understand which production procedures are truly necessary and eliminate all possible losses of resources.
3. Not a process, but a flow. Production technology should not be a set of procedures, but a continuous flow, where operations logically and immediately replace one another. It is important that each operation adds value to the product as defined in point 1.
4. What you need, and as much as you need. Product release must meet the needs and requirements of end consumers.
5. There is no limit to perfection. The implementation of the BP system is not completed; it involves permanent job on further improvements in an ever-changing market situation.

Hidden losses

The Lean manufacturing system is extremely specific. In order to rebuild production, you first need to restore order in the existing system, eliminating the most obvious “leaks”, that is, minimizing hidden losses, eliminating unhelpful actions. Thus, efficiency will increase and management will improve in other areas. Therefore, it is necessary first of all to determine the main types of possible losses in production. The founders and followers of the Lean system identified several of their varieties:

• re-production– losses due to excess production of products (increase the impact of other types of losses);
• "expectant"– losses due to unproductive waiting (for various reasons, for example, downtime, late deliveries, setting up poor equipment, inefficient production cycle, etc.);
• dynamic– losses caused by unproductive movements and inappropriate movements (searching for the necessary tools or documents, performing actions unnecessarily, improper organization of space);
• "spare"– losses due to excessive amounts of inventory (parts, documents, raw materials, etc.), since resources need to be spent on storage, search, etc.;
• quality– losses due to defective production results (large quantities of defects);
• technological– losses due to technology not meeting the requirements for the final product;
• psychological– losses due to creative burnout of employees.

LEAN tools

To achieve the goals declared by “Lean” production, an extensive system of various management tools is used:

1. 5S concept. This tool is intended for the initial ordering of the main processes that cause hidden losses of certain varieties. The application of the method immediately has a positive impact on the quality of products, labor productivity, and the safety of its conditions. The name “5S” reflects the five main stages of minimizing hidden losses, each of which begins with the letter “C”:
   • sorting;
   • self-organization;
   • maintaining the workplace in proper condition;
   • standardization of the workplace;
   • improvement.
2. JIT method. The abbreviation stands for “Just-in-Time”. Aimed at reducing the production cycle time, which, in turn, will significantly reduce the cost of production, and therefore the price of the product. The essence of the method is that materials and raw materials are provided only when and in the quantities they are needed for production. In a “running short” state, working losses will be significantly reduced compared to a constant excess of source material.
3. Poka-Yoke method. Translation from Japanese of the expression is “error protection.” The point is to eliminate the very possibility of making a mistake. Everyone knows that prevention is always less complicated and costly than correction. Therefore, all the efforts of staff and management are directed towards creating procedures or using devices to prevent errors.
4. Kaizen approach. The word can be translated as “improvement without stopping.” Its basis is a gradual transition from stage to stage, each of the subsequent ones provides for, albeit small, but changes for the better. At each stage, the current situation is first analyzed, then specific steps for improvement are proposed, which are implemented at the next stage.
5. Kanban system. Also a Japanese method that involves control over the flow of materials and goods. It is based on the use of special work cards to accompany the product throughout its entire production cycle, each of which is called “kanban”. They come in two types:
   • selection cards - carry information about product parts that must come from other sites or from suppliers;
   • order cards - carry information about the movement of products or their parts within the organization (types, quantities), which should come from the previous stage of production.
6. Andon mode. Provides transparency of the process for all production participants through visual control, allows you to request help in a timely manner or stop the process.
7. SMED method.(“Single Minute Exchange of Die”, which can be translated as “delay is like death”) allows you to minimize time losses at intermediate stages of production.
8. Quality control can be done using a varied palette of techniques:
   • check sheet;
   • control card;
   • stratification;
   • bar chart;
   • scatter diagram, Pareto, Ishikawa, etc.
9. Quality control carried out using a variety of charts, graphs and matrices:
   • network diagram;
   • priority matrix;
   • connection diagrams, affinity, tree, matrix, etc.
10. Quality analysis and planning can be performed using various procedures:
    • “5 Whys” method;
    • "house of quality";
    • FMEA analysis, etc.

This is not a complete list of Lean manufacturing tools. Since BP, as already mentioned, is not a set of technologies, but a system, the greatest effect will come from the integrated application of techniques, although each of them individually will have a positive impact on a particular industry.

Inhibiting stereotypes about LEAN technology

The main problems of implementing “Lean” technology in production are in the minds of management and staff. False beliefs prevent you from accepting new principles for building production and passing them through yourself.

Nevertheless, the LEAN principles are objective, and therefore stereotypes of thinking should not slow down the implementation of this progressive technology. What prevents the understanding of this system? Let's consider the main internal objections:

1. “The enterprise has been operating for years, and is still working well, why make drastic changes?” The fact is that the market has changed rapidly in the last couple of decades. The old principles of production will not only not ensure the preservation of the level, but will inevitably pull it back.
2. “All these foreign technologies will not work in our conditions, in our mentality.” Indeed, “Lean” manufacturing as an approach was developed in Japan, and was picked up and developed by the Western business world. But this approach is not something purely national; its principles are universal and are based on a resource conservation system as old as the world, simply “packed” into more modern tools.
3. “It won’t take root, they’ll try and quit.” System continuous improvement– not an action, not a one-time introduction, but a complete restructuring of the framework, a basic change in the work culture. If you start, the running mechanism of improvement will not stop: people quickly get used to good things.
4. “I’m just a cog in the system, what can I do?” These are the thoughts of ordinary workers, ordinary personnel, who think that nothing depends on them. However, the very basis of the Lean system refutes this stereotype, proclaiming the principle: “Every drop can overflow a glass.” Thanks to the system, it is easy to answer the question: “What can I do?” and begin to act: organize your workplace, improve the operation of subordinate equipment, establish the necessary connections, etc.
5. “Everything needs to be changed, it’s difficult and expensive.” IN in this case Only stereotypes need to be broken. The implementation of LEAN does not require additional investments, changes in personnel policies, or immediate restructuring of technological schemes. We are talking about a global change - in mentality, and it happens very gradually and gradually.